Landlords across Houston are refusing to respond to their tenants’ pleas and/or offering zero abatement options and imposing late fees with talks of tenants defaulting. We are speaking on behalf of dozens of small business owners in Houston. Many of us ARE NOT in the food and beverage industry and were ordered to completely shut down by Governor Abbott on March 19. We do not have take-out options for our clientele and are generating zero income. We have wholly contributed to these properties in improvement and continuously paid taxes on properties we do not own. There has been zero substantial ruling on commercial tenants - small business owners - and we've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the improvement and build-out of our landlords properties. We've also paid our proportionate share of their property taxes for the duration of our leases. PLEASE SIGN because without legislature, thousands of small businesses in Houston will close.

Veterinary professionals across the country — from veterinary technicians and veterinarians to other staff critical to animal hospital operations — are on the frontline in helping our communities and pets feel safe and supported as we all grapple with the effects of COVID-19. These essential professionals deserve to be safe on the job and adequately compensated for their efforts to keep our pets safe and healthy during this pandemic. In this time of crisis, too many of our essential workers have been subject to unsafe and unsanitary working conditions, inadequate pay, and inflexible leave policies that put their personal health and safety, as well as the health and safety of the greater community at risk. When veterinary staff are put in harm’s way, so are our country’s pets. --- Hazard pay of at least 20 percent over base hourly wage to compensate for the increased risks these workers face due to COVID-19 --- Adequate safety protections, including necessary equipment such as masks, gloves, and sanitizer to keep both workers and clients safe and minimize community transmission --- Safety subcommittees at all hospitals that can quickly adjust hospital policies and protocols to match current CDC-recommended practices. These committees should be made up of representatives of both workers and management. --- At least two weeks of additional paid leave to ensure that workers can appropriately respond to the COVID-19 risk to themselves and their families. Workers should not be forced to use already allocated PTO. In this time of uncertainty and stress, our veterinary workers continue to show up at work every day and care for our country’s pets. All essential workers deserve to be adequately compensated for helping to keep our communities safe, and veterinary professionals are no different. #essentialpetcare #thereforpets

Many of us are the only providers for our families. Many of us are sole-proprietors and can’t even qualify for unemployment benefits. We have to furnish our own medical insurance, and if we can not run our business we cannot pay for our medical expenses either. We are in the worst possible situation here. Madam Speaker, we are so proud of what you are trying to do for America. Please, do not leave small businesses in the lurch. When all of this is over who will cut your hair, who will launder your clothes, who will treat your aches and pains and soothe your worries? People like us. Please, remember us when you are fighting for the Disaster Relief measures on the house floor and in Senate.

On Friday, President Bollinger announced that all classes will now be graded on a Pass/Fail only basis. With the moving of classes to an online format, this represents a further decline in the quality of education. Given that students have paid nearly $30,000 for tuition this semester, it is unfair that they continue to pay this cost while receiving a level of education that is clearly inferior to that for which they paid. Online classes simply do not offer the same quality of instruction as in-person classes, and students no longer have access to the amenities that their tuition is supposed to fund, such as library and computer lab access, engineering equipment, and more. The mandatory pass-fail further means that students will be paying for tuition without any impact whatsoever on their GPA, which is another undue burden created by the university's policies. Moreover, a significant portion of students' tuition is the student life fee, which pays for amenities that students no longer have access to such as Dodge Fitness Center. With the closing of these spaces and the cancellation of student events such as commencement and senior activities, it is unfair that Columbia continues to hold on to this money despite not being able to provide students these services for which they have already paid. Finally, the pandemic that necessitated these measures has also thrown the U.S economy into a severe recession. Many students are facing severe financial hardship as a result of losing their jobs or their family losing their jobs. In fact, many students depend on their jobs to pay for their tuition. Ultimately, it is only fair that as Columbia recoups expenses from cancelling student events and closing campus spaces, that some of this money be refunded to the students whose tuition paid for it in the first place. Please sign this petition and tell the administration of Columbia University to refund Spring 2020 tuition to all students.

Every previous bailout during catastrophic events such as 9/11 and the bank failure crisis In 2008 has bailed out corporations. It hasn’t worked. Ordinary everyday folks lost pensions, houses, jobs, benefits and rights. Corporations made tremendous profits off the backs of the workers. This is why there is so much hardship and need in our country. The corporations do not deserve the bailout. People do.

We are in a pandemic crisis and the state could have desperately used that money for ventilators, healthcare resources and costs and for relief to the many citizens impacted by our state economy stalled and even collapsing.

Donald Trump's Department of Justice wants to use the Coronavirus to get Congress to give him shocking new power to indefinitely detain people and suspend constitutional rights. This is a terrifying request and represents a stunning escalation of Trump's authoritarian tendencies. Rather than go all out to stop the coronavirus and save our ailing economy, Trump wants to instead focus on expanding his powers to harass opponents and throw his enemies in jail. One legal expert on CNN said "Can you imagine being arrested and not brought before a judge indefinitely? This isn’t how America is supposed to work." He's right. Tell Congress right now to stop Trump's awful proposal dead in its tracks.

About 25% of the Chernobyl miners died as a result of radiation poisoning. Is America willing to endanger the “essential workers” who are making it possible for the rest of us to have some semblance of normalcy as we shelter in place? Part of any relief effort must include hazard pay and protective gear for them, and assistance with medical bills if they contract the illness.

Demand Progress filed a formal complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee calling for an investigation into Senator Richard Burr for insider trading. He and Senator Kelly Loeffler also need to resign. At the very same time that Senator Burr and Senator Loeffler were telling the public that the "economy is strong" and even attacking Democrats for exaggerating the danger of the coronavirus, they were dumping millions of dollars of stock holdings based on classified intelligence. Senators Burr and Loeffler are counting on us to be too wrapped up in the exploding coronavirus news cycle to take them to task — but this corruption is just too immense. Demand Progress is filing with the Senate Ethics Committee and the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a formal investigation into these senators' insider trading. We're also leading the coalition asking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to remove Sen. Burr as chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee -- and both need to resign. Now.

It is important because I have personally witness what my daughter and so many other students have experienced in Athens, GA., where the University of Georgia is located. Because the housing regulations are so lenient in Georgia, the management companies take advantage of student/tenants. In the past, I have notified the Congressman, Jody Hice, but my email was ignored with responses to support his office.

To the save the lives of Floridians and stop the spread of Covid-19

Broadcasting these events live is a public health risk. Trump is feeding his viewers with disinformation and misinformation. It is impossible to fact-check this information in real time, and viewers are likely to engage in dangerous, risky behaviors if they listen only to Trump's public statements. He is also using this platform to campaign for reelection by promoting his "brand" as someone who stands up to the news media. By broadcasting these segments, you are feeding into an unhealthy dynamic in which Trump is able to further undermine trust in the news media. By carrying these briefings live, you are complicit in spreading dangerous lies and division: both are killing us.